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12 Oct 2009 : Column 96W—continued
Criminal Injuries Compensation: Driving Offences
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate has been made of the costs incurred under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme in relation to injuries and deaths caused by uninsured drivers in the latest period for which figures are available. [289963]
Claire Ward: Injuries or deaths caused by drivers, uninsured or otherwise, are not covered by the terms of the criminal injuries compensation scheme (CICS), except where the driver used the vehicle deliberately to inflict, or to attempt to inflict, injury. Otherwise, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (which administers the CICS) refers victims of road traffic incidents to the Motor Insurers' Bureau, an industry-sponsored body which can compensate victims of uninsured drivers.
Cycling: Prosecutions
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prosecutions there have been for offences related to riding a bicycle on the pavement in each police force area in the last year for which figures are available. [289246]
Claire Ward: Information showing the number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for riding a pedal cycle on a footpath, England and Wales, broken down by police force area, in 2007 (latest available) is shown in the table.
Data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
Data Protection
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the evidence submitted by the Information Commissioner's Office to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee in its inquiry into self-regulation of the press, which journalists received data supplied by Hampshire-based private investigators under Operations Glade and Motorman. [289726]
Mr. Wills: In 2006, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) carried out an investigation into data protection offences under Operation Motorman. This investigation led to a further investigation by the Metropolitan Police Service under Operation Glade.
The ICO published two special reports to Parliament, 'What Price Privacy?' and 'What Price Privacy Now?', which relate to these investigations but did not name the journalists involved. Under Section 59 of the Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998, the Information Commissioner is generally prohibited from disclosing information obtained by him under the provisions of the DPA which relates to an identifiable individual or business and has not previously been made publicly available, for example, names of journalists or the organisations they work for.
This information has been supplied by the ICO.
Harry Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent discussions he has had with the Information Commissioner on the outcomes of Operation Motorman and related investigations and its
findings relating to data illegally obtained from British Telecom, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and the Police National Computer; and if he will make a statement. [289729]
Mr. Wills: The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) presented two special reports to Parliament in 2006 about the illegal trade in personal information.
Although there have been no recent discussions between the Secretary of State for Justice and the Information Commissioner on this subject, the Ministry of Justice and the ICO work closely together to ensure that all data controllers understand their obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998.
The Government are currently considering whether now is the appropriate time to consult on introducing custodial sentences for the knowing or reckless misuse of personal data.
Debt Collection
Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his policy is on the means by which bailiffs identify themselves on the doorstep; and if he will make a statement. [289253]
Bridget Prentice: Bailiff powers and their conduct is a sensitive and complex issue and has been the subject of considerable assessment, debate and consultation over the last 10 years.
The National Standards for Enforcement Agents published in 2002 by the then Lord Chancellor's Department states,
"Enforcement agents should always produce relevant identification on request, such as a badge or ID card, together with a written authorisation to act on behalf of the creditor."
The guidance is not a legally binding document and does not replace local agreements, existing agency codes of practice or legislation; rather it sets out what the Ministry, those in the industry and some major users regard as minimum standards.
The Government announced, on 17 March 2009, measures to strengthen regulation of the enforcement industry that will raise standards of professionalism within the industry and give the public greater confidence in it. The regulatory framework will include a mandatory code of conduct that will address the means by which enforcement agents identify themselves on the doorstep.
A forthcoming consultation paper will set out the Government's intentions for a package of measures which will address concerns that have been raised about the behaviour of bailiffs and proposals for the regulation of the bailiff industry. The intention is to commence this consultation exercise in January 2010 with a view to implementing the changes in April 2012.
Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many bailiffs were on the online bailiff register on the latest date for which figures are available. [289257]
Bridget Prentice: As at 1 October 2009, there were 1,679 certificated bailiffs on the HMCS online certificated bailiff register.
Departmental Advertising
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department spent on newspaper advertising by publication in the latest year for which figures are available. [289477]
Mr. Straw: The Ministry of Justice does not record information centrally at a level of detail that would allow for the specific identification of advertising expenditure by publication. Such information is held locally by courts, prisons and probation boards throughout England and Wales and could be collated only at disproportionate cost. The vast majority of advertising expenditure incurred by the Ministry, however, relates to staff recruitment.
Departmental Consultants
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department has spent on consultants to assist Ministers of his Department in their parliamentary duties in the last 12 months. [289202]
Departmental Databases
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent estimate he has made of the error rate in each database run by (a) his Department and (b) its agencies. [291834]
Mr. Wills: The Ministry of Justice takes its responsibilities for maintaining the integrity of the data stored on its databases very seriously. Although there is no process for summarising the number of inaccurate records, there are systems in place to maximise the accuracy of the data held on the relevant systems. Any inaccurate records that are found on the system are corrected as soon as they are identified.
Departmental Electronic Equipment
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) mobile telephones, (b) BlackBerrys and (c) laptop computers were issued to staff of his Department in each of the last five years; and how many of these were issued to (i) new staff and (ii) existing staff following (A) loss and (B) theft of the previous device. [290246]
Mr. Wills: Departmental mobile telephones, BlackBerrys and laptops are provided through service contracts with external suppliers. They are usually allocated from a central pool and returned to the pool for re-allocation when no longer required.
The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) was established in May 2007. Numbers of BlackBerry, laptop and mobile telephone users for 2007-08 and 2008-09 are given as follows:
| Number | |
Figures for BlackBerry and laptop users are taken from the Department's central records which cover MOJ headquarters and main business areas, including Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS) and the Tribunals Service. The figures for mobile phone users are for MOJ headquarters only. Larger business areas, including HMCS and the Tribunals Service, manage mobile telephone provision locally and these figures could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
In addition, numbers for the National Offender Management Service, taken from their central records are as follows:
| Average laptop volumes | Average BlackBerry volumes | Average mobile telephone volumes | |
It would require an extensive data gathering exercise to identify the further detailed information requested. This could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Flexible Working
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what flexi-time arrangements were available to staff within the Department in each of the last five years; and how many staff participated in such arrangements in each such year. [290252]
Mr. Wills: In the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), all staff may apply for flexible working options. For the past five years, these options have included flexi-time, compressed hours, reduced hours, job-share and job split, part year, annualised hours, home working and remote working.
In NOMS, flexible working options are available to staff in administrative, professional and technological, psychological, secretarial and office support grades, and grade E managers and below. For the past five years, flexible working options have included job-sharing and part-time hours.
Managers consider all requests to work flexibly, taking into consideration the needs of the business and the individual. Many requests for flexible working may be made informally between managers and staff and therefore will not be formally recorded. Information concerning how many staff participate in such arrangements is not collated centrally and could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
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